pointed teeth || iz*one

32

"Does she bite?"

"I don't think so. But just in case..."

"That's better."

They wake up about three minutes later. Hyewon realises she's bound, unable to move and back-to-back with Sakura, her head lolling back against the short-haired girl's shoulder.

"Don't let them know we're awake," Sakura mumbles through a knot of cloth.

A shift in the velvet near Hyewon's foot indicates one of their captors have realised their consciousness. Sakura notices it first and pinches Hyewon's hand lightly so she lets herself go limp again.

"We know you're awake. We know our dosages," an ominously normal voice says. It sounds like the voice of a typical cheery student who's working as a stall tender during the holidays. Judging by the smoothness, he's in his early twenties.

"Fine," Hyewon growls, slightly annoyed. Sakura remains silent. It's too hard to speak through the knot and she doesn't want to choke on her own saliva.

...

"So... three out of twelve down..."

...

Dirt and pebbles turn into a winding, bumpy road of tar and cobblestone. Breathing in clean air for what may be the last time, Hyewon leans her head on Sakura's shoulder and lets a tear roll to her temple. They're still tied to the plank of the wall, but the velvet is off them. The driver's humming softly to a tune familiar to them, though they can't exactly place it.

"Are you hungry?"

"What?" Hyewon mutters weakly. She's not even sure she heard that right.

But of course she is. It's been almost 24 hours since she's last eaten anything, and for Hyewon, that's an eternity. Sakura doesn't sound so well herself.

"You hungry?" Sakura whispers again.

"I could go for an entire cow right now."

A beat of silence save the rattling of bottles and cases as the truck rolls over a bump in the stone.

"I miss Eunbi."

"I know," Sakura says plainly. She doesn't need to state the obvious that she misses Chaeyeon too.

...

"Four out of twelve."

...

"I can see ahead there..." Hyewon grunts, jerking her chin upwards to the left. "The Bureau."

Through a mass of foliage, branches, silhouetted leaves, just the point of a tower is visible. A rough jerk shakes them from their foggy mindsets and makes Sakura's forehead clash into Hyewon's chin.

The driver pulls a tag connected to a thin silver chain from inside his collar, then holds it up to something neither of them can see at first. Through a squint, Sakura's eyes flare again.

A tiny red light. A sensor.

"Hunter 053," a robotic voice rings out, startling them, "Access granted."

A metallic squeal follows as two large gates part to let the truck in.

"Get down," one of them commands. Sakura jumps down and lands hard on her bound feet. Hyewon sat down and inched her way down, but she catches the wince Sakura tried to stifle.

The driver alone leads them into the building, leaving the three others outside. "Wait and guard," he says, before taking the rope that binds the pair of their wrists in his own hand and tugging them behind him towards a...